Shen Qingzhi had clearly anticipated her arrival, confirming Yu Yi's suspicions.
Zhang Zai claimed he had seen a portrait of the Cyan Mystic being worshipped among common folk, which led him to find her. But Yu Yi had only given the villagers outside the Ghost City a single scroll with her master's portrait.
The Immortal Alliance's Moon-Touching Palace was far away in Wangye, eighty thousand miles from Yinzhou. How could Zhang Zai have seen her master's portrait so quickly and coincidentally? It must have been Zhaohua Palace that sent the message.
They had lured her here with a contract, most likely targeting Xue Chenjing. No wonder she hadn't seen Xue Chenjing after leaving the weapon tower - that demon had fled quickly, leaving her to deal with the mess.
Yu Yi sighed silently. Indeed, whenever one gets involved with villains, peaceful days become impossible.
After arriving at Zhaohua Palace, Shen Qingzhi hosted them for a sumptuous dinner filled with spiritual delicacies. They were then arranged to rest in the guest quarters for a day to recuperate before departing early the next morning.
With Zhaohua Palace being rich in spiritual energy, Yu Yi could hardly afford the luxury of sleep. After returning to her room, she sat down to meditate and cultivate.
Zhang Zai dismissed the Immortal Alliance disciples and caught up with Shen Qingzhi, asking, "Brother Qingzhi, I haven't visited Zhaohua Palace in a long time. How is the young palace master's health now? If possible, might I be allowed to visit?"
Shen Qingzhi's footsteps halted, and his gaze turned to Zhang Zai's face, his eyes sharp enough to pierce.
But in just a moment, the sharpness in his eyes was concealed by a faint smile as he replied, "I'm afraid that's not possible. As you know, the poison in her body has no cure. Her condition only deteriorates; there's no possibility of 'getting better.' Ao'er spends most of her time in a comatose state and really isn't fit to receive visitors."
Zhang Zai's face showed disappointment, and he wanted to say more, but Shen Qingzhi had already cupped his hands in farewell and strode away, seemingly unwilling to hear another word on the subject.
Unable to pursue the matter further, Zhang Zai could only sigh helplessly and raise his head to gaze at the palace halls perched at the top of the waterfall.
Early the next morning, Shen Qingzhi returned to the cliff-side guest quarters and personally led them into the secret realm of Emotion Flower Valley.
Having guarded the secret realm for so many years, Zhaohua Palace had thoroughly explored and developed the Emotion Flower Valley realm, establishing a shortcut that connected all seven layers and led directly to the deepest part - the Sunken Flower Sea.
While other cultivators were still struggling in the outer layers of Emotion Flower Valley, Yu Yi had already followed Zhang Zai and Shen Qingzhi's group to the innermost realm, the Sunken Flower Sea.
The Sunken Flower Sea was a vast lake within the secret realm. Its waters were deep yet completely transparent. From afar, the rippling surface reflected rainbow-colored light, like a natural diamond embedded in the earth's surface.
Zhaohua Palace had prepared special water-entering artifacts called Swimming Fish - robes made of high-grade spiritual silk with inscribed talismans, similar in principle to the talisman carpets Yu Yi had seen being sold by that "Aladdin" outside Yinzhou.
However, these Swimming Fish robes were entirely woven from spiritual silk, glowing with ethereal light like celestial garments. They required no additional spiritual energy and were thus extremely valuable. Zhaohua Palace only had five of them, so only five people could enter the water.
Yu Yi received one Swimming Fish robe, while the Immortal Alliance and Zhaohua Palace each provided two cultivators - their highest-ranked ones, including Zhang Zai and Shen Qingzhi.
The remaining people stayed on shore to provide support.
Yu Yi had initially thought they had brought her here to find leads about Xue Chenjing, using the Sunken Flower Sea mission as an irrefusable excuse. But she had misjudged them - they were genuinely focused on completing the mission.
Standing at the water's edge, she had no reason to back out now, so she donned the robe and followed them into the water.
The Swimming Fish silk robe felt weightless on her body. Upon entering the water, the talismans on the robe activated, releasing spiritual light that formed a glowing halo around each of the five people. The light condensed into fish-like shapes enveloping their bodies, resembling dolphins or whales more than ordinary fish.
The fins and tail of the Swimming Fish responded to the wearer's limbs, allowing even non-swimmers to move through the water.
Within the spiritual light's protection, Yu Yi could breathe freely. She curiously looked around herself, gently moving her hands and feet. The surrounding water rippled, and she immediately shot forward a considerable distance.
Shen Qingzhi couldn't help but smile, saying, "The Sunken Flower Sea is filled with evil spirits, and the water has hallucinogenic effects. The deeper we go, the more dangerous it becomes. Everyone should first practice with the Swimming Fish robes in shallow water to avoid panic when we reach the bottom."
The group tested their sword techniques and hand seals, finding that the fish-shaped aura didn't hinder combat at all.
After about fifteen minutes, the five set out toward the deep water. Yu Yi led the way with her heart sword, while Shen Qingzhi and Zhang Zai protected her flanks, and the remaining two followed behind.
The Sunken Flower Sea's water was incredibly clear, allowing sunlight to penetrate to great depths. The light scattered in the water like drifting flower petals, explaining the sea's name.
Halfway through their journey, the scattered light in the water grew more intense, forming a vast, shimmering expanse like a submerged galaxy, beautiful yet eerie.
Suddenly, a reflected light shard struck Yu Yi's eyes. Her mind wavered, and her consciousness was violently pulled into that dazzling light, which overwhelmed her vision with blinding whiteness.
The sound of rippling water had somehow transformed into howling wind, mixed with ghostly wails and wolf-like cries.
As the white light faded, cliffs, pine trees, and stacked rocks reappeared in her vision. Yu Yi blinked in confusion at the warning-covered stone tablet now within arm's reach, momentarily unsure whether she had left the sword realm or not.
"Have I returned, or did I never leave?" Yu Yi wondered internally, trying to maintain her composure while attempting to distinguish reality from illusion.
The familiar sound of a sword rang out from behind the stone tablet. Yu Yi followed the sound, looking past the tablet to see a scene she had grown accustomed to, except this time they were very close to her - too close for comfort.
Yu Yi instinctively wanted to retreat, but the shadow pinned under the heart sword suddenly elongated, like a manifested tentacle desperately reaching for her.
From within the dark shadow, Xue Chenjing's yearning eyes appeared as he pleaded, "Master, save me, I'll be obedient. Take me with you, please, I beg you to take me away from here..."
Yu Yi's fingers twitched and she withdrew her hand into her sleeve, shaking her head at him.
Xue Chenjing's eager gaze gradually dimmed, tears rolling down his cheeks as he choked out, "Then when will you be willing to take my hand? Won't you accept me even if I'm well-behaved? Your name is written on this rope, you know."
He raised his hand, desperately tearing at his chest to reveal the oath tablet in his heart sea, saying angrily, "Look, your name is on this! If you don't want me, then take back this oath tablet!"
Very well, take it back - that's all it would take. Yu Yi's heart wavered, and she unconsciously stepped forward, reaching toward his chest.
Xue Mingyuan called out, "No! He's deceiving you!"
Yu Yi's movement froze, and she turned to look at Xue Mingyuan kneeling on the ground. He gripped his sword with one hand, forcefully driving it into the shadow's heart, letting out a self-mocking laugh, "Don't believe him, not a single word. Look, he's already prepared to catch you."
Yu Yi followed his gaze and saw countless tentacles extending from the shadow.
The tentacles hung dramatically in mid-air, forming a hunting net, with all their tips aimed at her, trembling with excitement and anticipation, waiting for her to come closer so they could grab her, capture her, make her their own.
Xue Chenjing's reddened eyes stared intently at her, excitement barely hidden behind his tears as he urged, "Master, master, are you hesitating because you can't bear to part with me? Then just grab hold of me, that's all you need to do."
"Or take back your oath tablet and abandon me completely." He narrowed his eyes, so excited he forgot himself and revealed the thoughts hidden in his heart, "It's fine, then I'll catch you instead, yes, I'll be the one to catch you, hehe."
"Take up your heart sword and help me, help me slay him." Xue Mingyuan's gentle gaze fell upon her face, looking into her eyes with compassion and encouragement. "Kill him, and you'll be completely free of him. I can't handle him alone; only you can help me. Will you help me?"
Yu Yi stood motionless, gripping her sword tightly, with their voices echoing in her ears. Xue Chenjing begged her to save him, while Xue Mingyuan urged her to kill him.
Another voice whispered in her ear, asking, "Whom do you pity more? Choose one. Follow your heart; you must choose."
Yu Yi's gaze moved between their faces before she suddenly smiled. "I hate being forced to make choices."
With a graceful flourish of her sword, she swept the blade in an arc, shattering both Xue Mingyuan and Xue Chenjing's images. The sword light transformed into a crimson crane, spinning back to her side before striking at the direction of the mysterious voice.
As the illusion dissolved, her eyes refocused on the rippling lake before her. A shadowy wraith fled quickly to the lake's depths, only to be split in two by the pursuing Green Bamboo Sword.
She withdrew her blade and glanced around. During her momentary trance, their group of five had scattered. The two people nearest to her wore vacant expressions, clearly trapped in their own illusions.
Looking down, she saw countless ghostly shadows had emerged from below, like murky silt turning the clear lake water dark.
A cultivator from the Immortal Alliance was already half-submerged in the shadowy silt, with wraith-like tendrils wrapping around him like underwater seaweed, forcing their way into his nose and mouth to drain his essence.
Yu Yi quickly activated the Chasing Spring Sword Technique, flicking her finger against the Green Bamboo Sword. The blade vibrated intensely, releasing a clear, resonant hum.
The sword's resonance created visible ripples through the water, sweeping outward. Shen Qingzhi and Zhang Zai both jolted as if shocked, their unfocused eyes regaining clarity as they awakened.
The wraiths that had been luring them suddenly receded like an ebbing tide, shrinking back toward the lake bottom, where the two cultivators joined forces to destroy them.
"Senior Brother!" The cultivator entangled by wraiths also regained consciousness, desperately calling to Zhang Zai while frantically swinging his sword to cut away the spirits.
But for each wraith he managed to slash away, another would take its place, endlessly trying to burrow into his body.
Zhang Zai shouted, lashing out with a silver whip to wrap around the man's waist, attempting to pull him free.
However, he was too deeply ensnared, with wraiths binding all his limbs in an inseparable tangle. As they struggled against each other, the cultivator's soul began to separate from his body.
The cultivator's spirit was like the most delectable dessert, driving the water wraiths into a feeding frenzy as they rushed to devour his soul, nearly submerging him completely. The cultivator screamed in agony.
Seeing Zhang Zai hesitate, Yu Yi immediately called out, "Don't let go, keep pulling!"
After speaking, she swam down with her fish tail, breaking through the murky water into the wraith-filled depths. Her sword flashed brilliantly, cutting away the wraiths binding the man. He gradually broke free from their grasp, and the whip suddenly yanked him back.
Zhang Zai swiftly pressed the cultivator's nearly-departed soul back into his body.
Shen Qingzhi applied a soul-stabilizing talisman to the man's forehead, helping the Immortal Alliance cultivator regain his composure. He thoughtfully observed the dark wraith shadows in the water, his brow furrowing.
When had the wraiths in this Sunken Flower Sea grown so powerful? And in such a short time, no less.
Zhaohua Palace had always guarded this secret realm, never abandoning their harvesting of the Sunken Flower Sea. Though the waters were dangerous, the treasures at the bottom were abundant – the fact that they could nurture divine instruments capable of sealing demons was proof enough. Zhaohua Palace had long since developed methods to tame the underwater wraiths.
But now, the wraiths' sudden increase in power clearly exceeded Shen Qingzhi's expectations. Caught off guard, even he had nearly fallen for their trap earlier.
Yu Yi cut through the entangling wraiths, attempting to swim upward with her tail, while Shen Qingzhi and Zhang Zai dove down to help her.
But at that moment, a whirlpool suddenly formed in the water. Its tremendous suction force churned the lake into chaos, mixing both people and wraith shadows into a confused maelstrom.
After a long while, when the whirlpool finally settled, Yu Yi had vanished into the depths.
Zhang Zai held his unconscious junior brother with one arm, his conscience wrestling within his chest as he asked again, "Can you truly guarantee she won't come to harm?"
Shen Qingzhi's eyes were deep and dark. The wraiths' power had exceeded his expectations; while he could have guaranteed her safety before, now he had his doubts.
However, his expression remained unchanged as he repeated his earlier assurance to Zhang Zai, "Of course. Our Palace Master spent years in seclusion in the Sunken Flower Sea and has tamed all the bottom-dwelling wraiths. How else could we have so easily retrieved the sealing artifacts needed by the Moon-Touching Palace?"
Zhang Zai seemed about to speak but held back. Before they came to the Sunken Flower Sea, Zhaohua Palace had already delivered the sealing artifacts to the Immortal Alliance, but they had made one request: for him to bring that contract and use it to lure their disciple here.
Though framed as a request, the Immortal Alliance had no room to refuse. When the Immortal Alliance was first established to guard Wangye, everyone had been united in purpose, and their word was absolute.
But over a thousand years had passed, and while the Immortal Alliance remained, its members had changed several times, leaving only an empty name. The Moon-Touching Palace lacked resources and relied entirely on supplies from the Twelve Great Immortals. Far from having any real authority, they were often at others' mercy.
Seeing his hesitation, Shen Qingzhi continued, "She possesses the heart sword; the lake water cannot confuse her mind. The lake wraiths are under my master's control, and my master has some friendship with Daoist Qingxuan – there's no reason to harm his disciple without cause. We brought her here for other purposes; she is not our main concern. My Lord need not worry so much, as if Zhaohua Palace were some kind of evil sect."
Zhang Zai started, "You go too far – I never thought that."
Shen Qingzhi relaxed into a smile and changed the subject: "Your junior brother's spirit is damaged. We should send someone to take him out for healing."
Zhang Zai nodded and turned to swim back to shore.
At the same moment, the outer regions of the Emotion Flower Valley secret realm were in complete chaos. The spirit beasts and creatures within had suddenly gone berserk for unknown reasons, and even normally gentle flower spirits had become extremely aggressive.
Treasure-seeking cultivators were suffering terribly, and even Zhaohua Palace members were being attacked by beast spirits. In this great chaos, finally no one had the leisure to pursue and block him anymore. Xue Chenjing entered the fifth layer of the secret realm, faintly sensing the call of his missing fire.
He walked along a pitch-black mountain path bordered by dense bamboo groves. It was nighttime, with neither stars nor moon in the sky, making the path nearly invisible in the darkness.
Xue Chenjing didn't use fire for illumination. His eyes emitted a faint ethereal glow, and with his demon spirit floating in mid-air, he moved through the night as easily as day. He preferred the night to day, enjoying the darkness and shadows, liking how others couldn't see him while he could observe their every move.
In an unusually good mood, he asked, "What's the favorability rating now?"
"Forty percent," the system replied wearily. How could the favorability increase when you're not even together? These constant questions were driving the system crazy. "Master, why don't you just focus on the tracking bug instead?"
At the mention of the tracking bug, Xue Chenjing's smile disappeared. Without the bug transmitting Yu Yi's movements, he had once again completely lost track of her whereabouts, not knowing where she had gone after leaving the Pure Flame Pavilion, what she was doing, or if she was with Pei Jingchao.
"I should have killed Pei Jingchao before leaving Yinzhou," Xue Chenjing muttered.
That sort of person actually caught her eye and became her original match – whenever Xue Chenjing thought about it, he wanted to force Yu Yi's eyes open and check carefully, to see if she had been blinded by excrement to have such terrible taste.
His sudden non sequitur left the system confused. "What about Pei Jingchao? Master, why are you suddenly thinking about Pei Jingchao again?"
Xue Chenjing's heart felt like it was stuffed with burrs, his mood souring again. He licked his lips and murmured, "It doesn't matter. Once I retrieve another fire, I can kill him. First kill Pei Jingchao, then find her... I'll be able to find her again soon..."
Suddenly, a piercing sound of suona horn interrupted his muttering. A red glow floated out from the depths of the bamboo forest, accompanied by festive wedding music. As the red light drew closer, it revealed itself to be a bridal procession.
Xue Chenjing's thoughts were interrupted, and he stopped in his tracks with displeasure, watching as the wedding procession approached.
Whether they were musicians or sedan chair bearers, beneath their trouser legs was nothing but empty space - the entire procession was as insubstantial as paper figures dancing in the wind.
Only the decorated bridal sedan chair showed any real weight, bobbing up and down, making the carrying poles creak and groan. There was clearly someone inside - probably some unfortunate cultivator who had been taken to become a ghost bride.
Before the light source reached him, Xue Chenjing retreated into the bamboo forest, clearing the path, having no intention of offering assistance.
The bridal sedan chair swayed past him, its curtain lifting gently in the breeze, and a whiff of fragrance mixed with the scent of blood drifted to his nose.
Xue Chenjing suddenly turned his gaze back, an strange gleam flowing through his eyes.
Ah, it was his master's fragrance, the scent of her blood.
